Step Up
by Aeneid
Summary: AU. When emotions are involved, it's hard to keep promises. Minor YuuAki/Faithshipping included.
1. Her Thoughts

It's White Day today, so I made this two-shot fic for my current OTP. Please enjoy! I hope to put up the second chapter before March 14 ends, PST. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Step Up

* * *

**Her Thoughts  
**

* * *

Nearly everyone in Duel Academy knew that Jack Atlas and Carly Nagisa had been inseparable since the day they both stepped inside the campus grounds. Jack, the tough guy that he was, had been the person whom Carly was holding on to when they went there on the first day of school. Because of Carly's nerdy look (everyone had stereotyped her because of her glasses), most students had picked on her, though they usually clammed up whenever the blond best friend was within vicinity. Despite this, whenever he looked away, they would continue to bully her. This went on year after year, and the more they bullied her, the more she would run to Jack for protection. Of course, he took his role seriously and glared at anyone who would even try to look at her.

That included the professors in the Academy as well.

Years went by, and everyone grew up. Carly still retained her nerdy look because of her glasses, but this time, everyone knew that she was a slacker who still managed to get decent grades. Jack, on the other hand, became too handsome for the female populace to handle and was the object of nearly every girl's affection in their year. The two had also widened their social circle by including Fudou Yuusei, Crow Hogan and Kiryuu Kyousuke in their group. Despite being the only girl in the group, Carly was 'one of the boys', and was treated like one. She was the boys' best friend and the decoder of the female mind whenever they found their female classmates too hard to understand. Yuusei, in the particular, had ask Carly for advice when he found himself crushing over a certain red head transfer student named Izayoi Aki. Most of the boys asked her for love advice, except for Jack, who thought that romance was overrated and stupid. In their first year in high school, he was the only male in their group who have had been unattached since birth. Carly, too, was unattached since birth, though it was her choice. Her excuse had always been that she had no time for such but…

The truth was, she was in love with someone, and that 'someone' was totally out of her reach.

The said 'someone' also happened to be her best friend, Jack Atlas.

* * *

When they were in their junior high years, during Valentine's Day, Carly had given them their usual obligatory chocolates. The ritual had started when they were in their fourth grade, and she had been giving them the chocolates ever since. When they started with junior high, girls suddenly began noticing how handsome Jack was, and started giving him _honmei_ chocolates, which he had rejected outright. The only chocolate he accepted, curiously, was the obligatory chocolate given to him by Carly. Because of this, rumors of them finally getting together ran like wildfire the following day, with some girls bold enough to hurt Carly Nagisa when she got to school. When Yuusei had witnessed it, he had immediately broken up the fight that was erupting between a lone Carly and a group of jealous girls. Crow had arrived soon afterwards, and had pulled their girl friend away from the mob.

"What happened?" he asked her as soon as the group ran off for safety, Crow Hogan chasing after, threatening to make them feel the same way they did to their friend.

"T-they attacked me because of Jack… t-they were jealous, I guess…" she rubbed her swollen cheek and winced from the pain.

"We should really keep an eye on you until the furor dies down." The young man with the crab hairstyle informed her. "I'll tell Kiryuu about this."

"Tell Kiryuu what?"

Both looked up to see Jack Atlas' towering figure. The blond frowned upon seeing Carly's state of disarray. "What happened to you?"

"I-it's nothing… I was just… clumsy, that's all." Upon Yuusei's confused look, the female gave him a look that told him to keep quiet about what had happened earlier.

Jack snorted. "Carly, you're thirteen years old. Act like a girl for once and be more graceful."

"S-sure, why not." She smiled, though she winced a bit from the pain.

"Oh, and I need to talk to you, privately." He eyed Yuusei, who took the hint. With one last look at his female friend, he walked off to their building, leaving the blond and their female friend alone.

"What's on your mind?" she asked politely.

"Yesterday made me think of… things that I never really wanted to bother with, but I was forced to, and I have to tell you about it."

"Which is?"

"Carly, whatever happens, do not fall for me."

At this, she gave a loud laugh, which made him glare. "Sorry about that… I mean, that was really ridiculous." She explained, still clutching her tummy. "Come on, you're like a brother to me. That'll be like incest."

He nodded. "Glad to know we see this situation eye-to-eye. Promise me you won't have any romantic feelings for me. Everything will get complicated." He stated. "Also, you should know that if you do become foolish and end up doing what I don't want you to do, it's over for us as friends."

She grinned at him, giving him a look as if he had turned into some kind of monster. "Well then, same to you. Don't fall for me too, okay?"

At this, he snorted. "Totally impossible. You're just a friend, nothing more." He informed her. "No offense, Carly. You're just an annoying little sister to me." At this, she playfully hit his arm in retaliation and he huffed.

Then, she suddenly turned serious. "I promise not to fall for you, and you promise not to fall for me." She held up her right pinky, and he did the same.

The deal was sealed.

* * *

_Thank you for bringing it up. After you said those, I began seeing you in a different light._

Instead of feeling indifferent towards her best friend after the talk, to her horror, she began developing feelings for him. At first, she totally ignored it, even telling and convincing herself that it will pass, but as months went by, the feelings grew stronger than ever before.

She suspected that it probably had something to do with him just being a good friend, but crossed it out immediately when he had given her a hug after a school competition. What got her thinking was the fact that their hug lingered a bit longer than usual, and that he seemed to have hugged her tighter than before.

'_Don't think about it too much. He just won the inter-school dueling championship in the district. He was just happy and got carried away.'_

Heck, even Yuusei had given her a hug, as well as Kyou! Crow, on the other hand, slapped her on the back instead.

So why was her brain making up stuff anyway?

Or… was it not making up stuff and simply presenting her with logical evidence?

Honestly, she liked the hug. To her, it wasn't friendly at all. It was more of a hug that one gave to a significant other…

Again, she felt confused.

What did she even feel for Jack Atlas? True, she was slowly seeing him not as a friend nor a big brother anymore, but as a… potential boyfriend.

Was this the effect of growing up? That she now saw boys as love interests other than best friends?

'_Honestly, this is all so confusing…'_

_

* * *

_

At the age of fifteen, Carly Nagisa finally accepted the fact that she was in love.

Two years have passed, and all of them were in their first year high school. For Carly, those two years were total agony on her part. She had kept her feelings intact for two long years, suppressing every urge to give Jack Atlas a gesture that was not platonic. No one knew of this secret of hers except herself, and she was not about to tell the whole world about her dilemma.

Besides, she made a promise not to fall for him…

"You sure are thinking hard lately." The carrot top in their group commented during their lunch.

She shook her head. "There's a lot on my mind… sorry about that." She gave out a forced smile and started eating her lunch, though she still retained that distant look in her eyes.

Truth to be told, she was worried.

Valentine's Day was just two weeks away, and she debated whether to finally admit it to him or not.

She knew what the consequences will be if she went on with her plan to confess, yet somehow, she felt unperturbed.

Was it because she was hoping for him to be lenient and not go through with what he and she promised to one another? Maybe so, but Carly knew that even if she was hoping for it, she still had somewhat accepted the scenario of him really breaking off his ties with her should she dare to break her promise.

The truth will set you free, or so they say.

'_In that case, I'll need a contingency plan. I'd better make new friends, just in case he goes through with it.'_

"Carly, what the heck is wrong with you? You just spaced out on Jack!" Crow said out loud, snapping her back to reality. As soon as she turned to face the blond, he was scowling at her. He hated it when people ignored him, and hated them even more if they were spacing out while he was talking to them.

"Sorry…" she mumbled. "I've been distracted lately."

"On what?" Kiryuu asked.

"Err… girl stuff." She lied, knowing that any topic related to the opposite sex made the boys turn away and not ask anymore. As soon as the words left her lips, Crow's face twitched and he ate his meal silently. Yuusei chose not to say anything while Kiryuu gave her a puzzled look. Jack rolled his eyes at her.

"Girl stuff? Carly, just when did you start thinking about those?"

"Ever since I realized that you guys are… guys while I'm a member of the opposite sex?" she replied sarcastically. Why was Jack asking her stuff like that all of a sudden? Like he cared when she had first experienced cramps (she couldn't say out loud to the boys that the cramps were female-related problems and they simply assumed she ate something bad), and when she turned violently moody at any joke that Crow said (and they also assumed that she had just woken up at the wrong side of the bed).

Crow swallowed his food before barking out a short laugh. "Admit it already, Carly. You're one of the boys, even if you have big boobs!"

To her mortification, she turned red. "W-what?" she screeched, hitting Crow on the head with her fists. "You pervert, what the hell are you saying?"

"Every guy is talking about it, you know." Crow informed her seriously. "So don't go opening that blazer of yours unless you're really asking for it."

Suddenly, she looked down on her red blazer, which was covering her… assets. Puberty had been kicking in since last year, and the first thing that was developing was her bosom, then her butt. "Uh… Crow, is that true?"

"I've been hearing stuff lately… and I'm not joking this time around." He said. "Carly, really, be careful. Guys are looking at you in a different light now, even if you still look like a geek."

"Enough. That thing shouldn't even be discussed." Jack glared at Crow.

"Believe it or not, it's a piece of advice a guy friend gives to his female best friend." Crow argued. "Let's face it: we've all been hearing stuff about Carly, and it's either perverted or downright mean."

Carly shuddered. "I get the downright mean part, courtesy of the many dumb females in the Academy who are getting their panties in a bunch whenever they see Jack strolling, but perverted? That's new… and it sounds scary."

"Just heed my advice and you'll be fine. No more prancing around just because you want to. Guys are on a lookout for anything you might flash."

"Got it." She nodded at Crow, then proceeded to eat her lunch, thoughts still plaguing her mind, though it was not because of what her other male friend had said.

It was still all about her confessing to Jack Atlas.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Valentine's Day was in the air as females in Duel Academy carried huge bags filled with chocolates that they will be giving to the boys they like, as well as the obligatory chocolates. As Carly had a very small circle of friends, she only had to make three obligatory chocolates for Crow, Yuusei and Kiryuu.

As for Jack Atlas…

Well, she had managed to whip up a homemade _honmei _chocolate for him, which she will be giving when she and him would have an 'alone time' together, whenever that was. She would definitely not give it to him in front of everyone else. She wanted to at least walk away from rejection with her dignity still intact, as well as her pride.

"So, where's my chocolate?" Crow asked jokingly as he greeted her that morning, a cheeky grin on his face.

"You'll get it later at lunch. Where are Yuusei and Kiryuu?"

"Got mobbed, as usual. Yuusei was kinda blushing over a gift some Izayoi girl gave him." Crow said. "Kiryuu got surrounded too."

"How about Jack?"

"Hiding in the usual place." He spoke of the secret spot that only all five of them knew, which was just behind the main building of the campus. No one goes there because the secret spot was tedious to go into.

"Oh, is that so. I'll go look for him before classes start." Waving goodbye to Crow, she headed to where Jack was hiding.

'_I'll give it to him there. That way, it will be his and mine's secret.'_

Ten minutes later, she found Jack Atlas, who was leaning against the wall of a building, scowling and breathing hard to himself. "Hey there. Hiding from your fan girls?"

"Shut up." He said, not looking at her. "Thank god you're the only logical female here in the Academy who is immune to all this nonsense."

She blinked at his statement. "About that…"

"Got any spare chocolate with you?" he asked. "Kinda hungry after all that hiding and running I did…"

"Oh! Uh, yeah… I do. Your, uh, present for today." She rummaged through her paper bag and dug out the _honmei_ chocolate she had made for him. "Here."

He frowned at heart shape container. "Did you run out of wrapping paper?"

She shook her head. "I like you."

"E-excuse me?" suddenly, he stood up straight and looked at her, confusion evident on his face.

"I like you more than a friend." She stated bluntly.

"What are you saying?" she could hear disbelief in his tone.

"I meant what I said. I like you more as a friend, Jack Atlas. Ever since you brought up that topic, I've developed feelings for you. I did what I could to suppress it but… I simply can't." she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat.

Not surprisingly, his amethyst eyes turned cold in a second. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Forcefully, he grabbed her hand and placed the chocolates she had just given him. "A promise is a promise. You broke yours, so deal with the consequences."

She sighed. "I knew it… I knew you wouldn't be lenient, even towards a friend." If anything he was the type to follow the rules to the T.

"You knew the consequences." He shot back.

To her shock, she felt hot tears blind her from both frustration and rejection. Just how cruel could a person get? Not only did he reject her outright, but he was figuratively stomping on her heart! "Was it _my_ fault that my emotions got the better of me? You know as well as I do that these… things cannot be taught what to do! I tried so much to suppress everything. I even tried those psychology stuff I read on the internet, and it didn't work! On the contrary, the opposite happened!

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise… even I didn't want it to happen, but this was simply too much. I knew this would happen anyway, so don't worry. I'll get over it, and… and just… I don't know, get out of your life...?" she shrugged, keeping her head down. "Even if you don't want the chocolates, keep them. It's for you."

"I won't go around the campus parading those chocolates around." He spat angrily.

"Fine, I give up. Chocolates take up the space in your bag when there's barely anything there." She said, sighing to herself. "Despite the end of our friendship, I will still hang out with Crow, Kyou and Yuusei. Ignore me if you wish, but don't keep _me_ away from my _other friends_."

With that, she turned and walked away, never looking back. "Good day, _Atlas-san_."

_Goodbye._

* * *

_Honmei choco_ is the chocolate you give to the person whom you truly like. Obligatory chocolates, know as the _giri choco_, are given to boys whom you have an obligation to. This ranges from father, brother, cousin, uncle, co-workers and the like. There's this new trend as well called the _tomo choco, _or the friend chocolate, which girls give to their female friends.

Valentine's Day in Japan is the day where girls do the gift-giving. A month later, on March 14, it's the guy's turn to respond to the girl who gave them chocolates. :)

If you have questions about this whole Valentine's Day/White Day social obligation whachamacallit, feel free to PM me or ask me in the review. :)

I hope you had fun reading this! Tell me what you think. :)


	2. His Musings

Apologies for the late update. School just ended, but I have tons of homework to do so I got delayed.

I decided to have three chapters for this, as to incorporate more scenarios that will have a fitting ending for this short chaptered fic.

Enjoy!

* * *

Step Up

* * *

**His Musings**

* * *

Jack Atlas knew he was a total idiot for acting like a jerk towards the only female whom he had allowed to get close to him other than his mother.

Not only was he a total idiot, but he was _stupid_ for not grabbing the one and only chance that he had to snag Carly Nagisa.

What do you call a guy who blew his chance with a girl anyway?

He was probably beyond stupid.

_Note to self: never mix emotions with logic. It ruins everything._

The truth of the matter was that he had always been in love with her.

* * *

He remembered the time when he first saw her. An avid photographer, she was taking pictures of kids their age dueling in public parks. His mother, a sweet lady who had raven tresses and amethyst-colored eyes just like him, had taken him to the local park that day. According to his mother, since he was a 'good boy', this was his treat: a stroll in the park after buying a deck.

"Besides, darling, you'll finally be able to duel children your age." His mother had said.

Off they went to the park that day, and as soon as they got there, his mother noticed the number of children his age dueling.

On the other hand, the first thing Jack noticed was a short-haired girl wearing trifocals, taking pictures of the duelists.

Before he could even understand what he was feeling, he immediately felt drawn towards her, and even asked his mother if it was possible to take the girl home with them. She laughed in response at what he had said and told him that it's not possible to do such, though it was possible to be friends with her.

Mustering enough courage and lowering his pride just a bit, he came over to greet her. "H-hi…" he muttered.

She stopped what she was doing and gaped at the blond boy before her. "A-are you talking to me…?"

"Obviously!" he huffed, eyes darting back and forth between the girl and the ground.

"Oh, sorry… umm, hi." The girl held out her hand. "I'm Carly. Carly Nagisa."

"Jack Atlas…" as soon as he held out his hand, she took it and shook it firmly, making him blush at the sudden contact.

"Do you duel?" she asked him immediately. When he shook his head, her eyes lit up. "Oh, I'll teach you! You have a deck, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Great!" she stored her camera inside her waist bag and took out a deck from her pocket. Carly then pulled her new friend's hand towards the park bench, failing to notice how red his face was turning. "Let's practice here, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

That was their first meeting.

* * *

Time went on, and when Jack heard from Carly that her mom wanted her to get into Duel Academy, he had begged his mother to let him study there as well, which made his mother laugh. "Of course you'll study there. I've already filled in your application forms."

He could never forget the excitement he felt the night before he was due to go to the Academy.

He couldn't wait to go to school every day with his best friend.

After befriending Carly, the young girl had introduced Jack to her parents, who had accepted him as their own son. His mother and Carly's parents knew each other already, but because of their work commitments, they have yet to spend some time to know each other. Despite that, however, Carly's parents trusted Jack enough to take care of their only daughter. He was, as they have said, a big brother figure to her, and counted on him to protect her at all times.

Jack Atlas took the role entrusted to him seriously, which was why he was quick to beat up any bullies who had their eye on his female best friend. Carly was very much timid, a total peacemaker and tried to please everyone, which almost always led to her getting picked on by the other kids. Whenever that happened, the blond boy was quick to beat up the bully. This continued on until they got to third grade. In that year, both of them quickly became friends with Fudou Yuusei, Kiryuu Kyousuke and Crow Hogan. At first, Jack had been hesitant to add the three boys to their partnership, feeling threatened with the fact that Carly was spending more time with them than with him. He felt snappy at times, even lashing out at Carly for every little thing she did. When she asked him why, he couldn't answer her.

"Aww, why can't you tell me?"

"Because… because… you're a girl."

She puffed her cheeks in irritation. "That's not a very good reason. Come on, we're best friends. We tell each other everything!"

"Fine." He said. "I don't like you spending too much time with Yuusei or Crow or Kiryuu."

At this, she burst out laughing. "Jack, you're my best friend. No one will replace you, not even them." She patted him on the shoulder. "They're our new friends, so I want to get to know them better."

"Hmph."

"Sorry for neglecting you." She patted his arm over and over again. "I'll make it up to you."

"With wha—" before he could even complete his sentence, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Sorry." She said again, smiling apologetically. "I hope you'll still be my best friend."

For the first time in his childhood life, he was at a loss for words. He managed a nod instead, which made Carly smile.

"Great! Let's go home!" with that, she took his hand in hers and dragged him away, Jack blushing all the while.

It was official.

He no longer was feeling brotherly towards Carly Nagisa.

It was something else, and he knew what it was. But for now, he'll deny it.

There was no way it would be _that_.

* * *

In their first year in junior high school, during the first day of classes, Jack knew he was going to get in trouble soon enough. He was thirteen, and he was at _that age_ wherein he looked at girls in a different way now. The target of his hormones was his female best friend, and the dreams he had been having lately were _not_ platonic. On the contrary, it involved scenarios that he would never dream of: the most vivid of all were the two of them in bed, half-naked, him on top of her and…

He tried hard not to think about it too much, lest he got more weird ideas, and it would totally ruin the way he looked at Carly…

'_If that's the case, then I don't think I trust myself anymore.'_

With that, he made a decision.

Since he can't trust himself anymore with anything related to Carly, he might as well leave everything to her.

He'll just have to make her promise him that she would never fall for him.

_Never._

He could count on her to do her part; it was easy enough. She obviously didn't see him more than a friend, and she was level-headed. He even considered her to be the most logical female in the whole Academy since she did not lose her head over a guy, and she was surrounded by four of them every day. Carly was obsessed with her photography and news writing for her to even bother with guys, nor did she look like she was interested in having a relationship.

Of course, despite those, it didn't deter some guys from pursuing her.

How many males have approached Jack Atlas to ask for his advice about Carly Nagisa? More than ten.

How many of them asked for a second time? Ten or so.

How many of them told Jack that they planned to have a relationship with her? Five.

How many of them went through with their plan? Zero.

No one would even dare approach Carly Nagisa now, not with him breathing on the necks of the guys who had actually dared to approach him for advice. They knew that he was not joking when he told them that if he sees them standing ten feet away from her, they would get sent to the hospital. Jack Atlas was one of the tallest male students in the Academy, he certainly wasn't stick thin, and he could pack quite a punch. The threat, which always hung heavily in the air whenever he was around Carly (which was most of the time), was effective in keeping away the male suitors.

With that threat sent, many men wondered what was going on between him and Carly Nagisa.

Jack personally thought he was just being a big brother to her, and looked out for her safety. He didn't want her to get hurt, nor did he want her to spend her time with some other guy he barely knew.

All of the boys who were crushing on Carly thought that Jack Atlas himself was in love with her, and because men in love were quite illogical and possessive, they knew they had to step aside.

It was either that, or they get sent to the hospital.

* * *

Crow Hogan was the first to notice.

Two days before Valentine's Day in their first year as junior high school Academy students, he noticed that Jack was fidgety than usual, stole more glances at Carly and was a bit more jumpy whenever someone mentioned her name. The ones who weren't close to him didn't notice such, but being friends with him for some years told him that he was tense.

"What's up, Atlas?" Crow asked as soon as they headed for the rooftop of one of the buildings in the Academy, their usual spot for lunch. Carly was not with them right now because the newspaper editor of the Academy had told her that her practical test for photography was during lunch hours.

"The usual." He replied monotonously.

"Don't lie, will ya?" the carrot top said. "You look relieved when Carly said that she won't be having lunch with us. For a guy who has been with her since Day 1 in Duel Academy, that was the least unexpected reaction I'd expect. When we were kids, whenever she said that she won't spend lunch with us, you'd throw a fit. Now, you had the gall to look _relieved_. What's with you two?"

Immediately, the blond went on defense mode. "Nothing's wrong. Carly and I are fine."

"You've been distracted lately, and whenever she gets too close with you, you back away a bit." Yuusei observed.

"And the way you glared at other guys looking at Carly, excluding us, tells me that something is going on." Kiryuu said quietly.

"Whatever it is that's on your mind, spill. She's not here, nor are we the gossipy type." He had to add the gossipy part just so he could get Jack's vote of confidence. Behind his back, all three of them kept on speculating, even betting on just when those two would finally get a clue and _start moving_ to advance their relationship.

Apparently, Jack had been the first one to notice their female friend in another way.

In between eating his lunch and taking a drink from his canned drink, Jack spilled everything, including the sordid details of the dreams he had been having. They were all guys, after all, and they would complete understand him.

After his tell-all, all three of them gave him mortified looks.

"Atlas, dude, seriously… you've got it bad for Carly. You pervert."

Jack swiftly delivered an Atlas Punch straight into Crow's right cheek.

* * *

He was aware of what had happened the day after Valentine's Day.

The mere fact that Yuusei had looked agitated confirmed that something had happened. Carly, on the other hand, had a bruise forming on her cheek, and the lie she had told him made him a hundred percent sure that some obsessed female students had assaulted her.

He would not take this lying down, of course.

_But before that, I have some business to take care of._

"Oh, and I need to talk to you, privately." Yuusei took this as his cue to leave, knowing about Jack's plans. Since he did not trust himself when it came to Carly, he would have to count on Carly to keep him in line.

"_What if she feels the same?" Kiryuu had been the skeptic in the group who nearly question everything Jack was planning._

_Jack snorted. "I doubt it. I'm like an older brother to her."_

"_You wouldn't know. Say, it's a one percent chance that she feels the same way… will you still push through with entrusting her to do her part of not falling for you?"_

"_Definitely." The blond said in a heartbeat._

_Kiryuu sighed. "If you say so…"_

"What's on your mind?" she asked politely.

He turned his back on her, pretending to fix his school bag. "Yesterday made me think of… things that I never really wanted to bother with, but I was forced to, and I have to tell you about it."

"Which is?"

"Carly, whatever happens, do not fall for me."

At this, she gave a loud laugh, which made him turn around and glare at her, though inwardly, he was relieved. "Sorry about that… I mean, that was really ridiculous." She explained, still clutching her tummy. "Come on, you're like a brother to me. That'll be like incest."

He nodded, his nervousness easing away. "Glad to know we see this situation eye-to-eye. Promise me you won't have any romantic feelings for me. Everything will get complicated." He stated. "Also, you should know that if you do become foolish and end up doing what I don't want you to do, it's over for us as friends."

She grinned at him, which made her avert his eyes elsewhere. Her damn grin was too much for him, for he found out recently that it distracted him and even made him blank out. "Well then, same to you. Don't fall for me too, okay?"

At this, he snorted, though he found himself tensing up at her joke. "Totally impossible. You're just a friend, nothing more." He informed her. "No offense, Carly. You're just an annoying little sister to me." At this, she playfully hit his arm in retaliation and he huffed.

Then, she suddenly turned serious. "I promise not to fall for you, and you promise not to fall for me." She held up her right pinky, and he did the same.

Everything was going just as he had planned.

* * *

Or so he thought.

His first Valentine's Day as a first year high school student in Duel Academy had been a disaster. Not only did he get chased around by girls, but the unexpected happened.

Carly Nagisa, his best friend and the only girl whom he allowed to get close to him, had confessed.

To say that it caught him off-guard was an understatement.

He was shocked, confused and most of all, rattled by her confession. A small part of him was happy with it, but his damn pride got in the way. Before he could stop himself, he heard himself rattle on and on about breaking promises. With the ultimatum announced, he could only stare helplessly at her when she turned her back on him, calling him 'Atlas-san' instead of his first name.

There were total strangers now.

She was no longer Carly.

She was to be called 'Nagisa' from now on.

* * *

Lunch had been awkward that day.

While all three boys had received their chocolates, Crow had been stupid enough to ask where Jack's chocolate was. Carly, unfazed by the question, ignored it and changed the topic, still chatting away. Jack, on the other hand, took this time to ponder on what he had just done, and how he really wanted to kick himself for letting his pride get in the way.

That, and him getting shaken up all because of a love confession.

He really did not expect it, nor did he even expect to get shaken up by it, which made him confused and made him say the wrong things as well.

Why was everything so complicated anyway?

He was not ready to deal with this. He was only sixteen, hardly an age where boys think of romance. He wanted to focus all of his energy into duelling, for he wanted to join the D-Wheel team of the Academy when he reached his final year, but his damn hormones were not cooperating. On top of that, he lost both his best friend and the girl he truly admired.

He rubbed his temples irritatingly._ 'This sucks.'_

"Jack, you alright?" it was Yuusei who asked.

"I'm fine." He snapped, still not looking at them. Frustration was getting to him, and he was tempted to punch just about _anything_.

"If you say so…" despite the wordings, Yuusei was concerned about what was happening. Carly was acting as if Jack didn't exist while he averted his gaze from her.

Something was up.

When school ended, it was Carly who excused herself and hurried away from the boys, which gave them the opportunity talk amongst themselves what had happened. It took five bowls of ramen from their favourite restaurant for Jack Atlas to finally admit what had happened between them early that morning, and to their shock, it was Kiryuu Kyousuke who had thrown the first punch.

"I gave you a hint before." Kiryuu said with an eerie calm in his tone. "And you messed up."

"… A love confession was the least I expected from her." He told the silvery-blue hair friend of his. "It caught me off-guard, and before I knew it, I babbled on and on about her and I not being friends anymore."

"That's not the point. You had your chance, and you blew it. And you hurt her." Kiryuu was clenching his fists. "She came crying to me earlier, and was screaming her lungs out because she was _hurt_. She told me that she expected it, but you were too cruel.

"I've no idea what had transpired between the two of you, but if she says that you were cruel, I'll take her word for it over _yours._" He said, glaring at him with his amber eyes.

"Kiryuu, calm down." Yuusei said, but it fell on deaf ears.

"I'll have you know that I do intend to do something about this… situation."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Nothing, for now." He said, not missing the death glare that Kiryuu was throwing his way. "What, you want me to come begging for forgiveness while she's pissed at me? It'll be pointless."

"The satisfaction of seeing you down on your knees asking for her forgiveness will amuse me." He informed Jack.

"Not happening." Said the blond student. "I have something in mind, and for the meantime, you three will not interfere."

"Question: how do _we_ know that you're actually acting on something? For all we know, you'll do nothing and just go with the flow."

"The deadline will be on White Day, two years from now. Stretch it to before our graduation." He told them. "For now, I will do nothing. Keep your tabs on me if you want, but don't interfere." He warned.

"As long as you don't make an ass out of yourself, I'll just be a spectator." Crow said.

"Same." Yuusei didn't want to get involved in his friends' issues, but of course, being a spectator had its perks.

The spotlight was on Kiryuu. "… Fine. Hurt her any further, I'll be merciless on you. Consider yourself warned."

"Gladly."

With that, all four boys gave each other a fist bump.

The deal was on.

* * *

I hope no one got dizzy and confused with the writing I did. If you got confused, drop me a question through PM or through the review. :)


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